Free Web NovelChapter 236: Extended Vacation
Aurelian, who had spent the last few days on vacation, remained on the outer terrace while his father’s meeting had started elsewhere in the estate.
The night air over the Arcturus grounds felt cooler than usual, carrying the distant hum of ships moving through the orbital lanes above the capital world.
From where he stood, he could see transport lights cutting through the dark sky in long, clean lines, some descending toward the main starport while others lifted back into orbit with the kind of steady control you expected from one of the Alliance’s strongest family territories.
Beside him, Astra stood with her hands behind her back, calm as always, watching the same traffic overhead.
Aurelian glanced at her and smiled faintly.
"You’ve been looking at that same lane for five minutes."
Astra turned her head toward him without losing that calm expression.
"I was just thinking about where these ships were going."
"Of course you were."
Behind them, Rhoswen leaned against the railing with obvious interest, her crimson eyes following a descending military convoy.
"So that one’s Arcturus too?"
"Yes," Aurelian said.
"That many?"
"Yes."
Rhoswen gave a low whistle.
"That’s actually ridiculous."
Astra looked toward the same convoy.
"It is a large family."
"Large?" Rhoswen pointed toward another formation entering the atmosphere. "That’s not large. That’s an entire sector pretending to be a family."
Aurelian laughed quietly.
"You’re not entirely wrong."
Rhoswen folded her arms.
"I thought frontier fleets were big."
"They are."
"Then what do you call this?"
"Home."
That answer made her pause for a second.
Astra simply looked back toward the traffic lanes.
"The coordination is impressive."
"That’s Astra’s way of saying she’s impressed."
"I did not say that."
"You didn’t have to."
Aurelian looked between them before speaking.
"The meeting will take a while."
That got both of their attention.
His father had already made it clear earlier in the evening. The inner family council needed time, and there was a good chance Aurelian would be called in himself once they worked through the larger decisions, which meant several more hours of waiting, maybe longer.
He looked at the two of them and let out a quiet breath.
They had spent months moving from combat to repairs to shortages to sudden raids without anything close to a real break.
Even these past few days had been split between family obligations and future planning. It was better than the frontier, but it wasn’t the same as actually stopping.
Enough was enough.
"Looks like we can continue with our off-duty activities."
Rhoswen blinked.
Then brightened immediately.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Completely?"
Aurelian shrugged.
"We’ve already spent several days here. Nothing important is going to change in the next few hours."
"I like that answer."
"I know."
He opened a secure panel on his terminal and started assigning access.
A nearby service drone floated over and delivered several family-issued terminals.
Rhoswen reached hers first and nearly knocked the drone off balance.
The drone corrected itself.
Astra accepted hers normally.
Aurelian finished the final authorization and closed the panel.
"These are linked through family channels. Temporary access to the starport district, transit routes, visitor areas, and spending authority."
Rhoswen stared at him.
"All expenses?"
"Yes."
"From your account?"
"Yes."
Her grin widened immediately.
"Astra."
"No."
"You don’t even know what I was going to ask."
"I know enough."
"You always say that."
"Because I am usually correct."
Rhoswen looked offended.
"Usually?"
Aurelian shook his head.
"Take the break while you can. Once we head back to Crownward March, things won’t stay quiet."
That changed the mood a little because everyone understood what he meant without needing it spelled out.
Larkspur Haven still needed rebuilding.
Helion Bastion Twelve was moving into a new stage.
The Thornwake sisters still needed work.
And somewhere beyond the nebula, the Kharov would eventually recover enough to respond.
This peace would not last.
Which was exactly what made it worth something right now.
Astra gave a small nod.
"The break is appreciated."
Rhoswen looked down at her terminal.
"The Arcturus capital is bigger than I thought."
"It usually has that effect on people."
She zoomed further into the map.
"There’s still half of this place I haven’t seen."
"You’ve spent most of your time finding restaurants."
"And?"
Astra looked at her.
"I am merely making an observation."
"There are good restaurants."
"That is not a defense."
"It absolutely is."
Aurelian folded his arms and watched them.
For once, it was hard to tell which one was enjoying the conversation more.
A few seconds later, Rhoswen pointed at something on the map.
"Let’s go back to the arena."
Astra looked at her.
"Of course she wants to go back there."
"There’s food too."
"That was implied."
"And a simulated fleet duel hall."
That got a little more interest out of Astra.
Rhoswen noticed immediately.
"I knew that would work."
Aurelian folded his arms.
"No property damage."
"No promises."
"Rhoswen."
She sighed dramatically.
"Fine. No expensive property damage."
"That’s not what I said."
"It’s the best offer you’re getting."
Astra shook her head.
"One day, that attitude is going to cause problems."
"One day?"
Aurelian almost laughed.
From there, they started planning where to spend the rest of the evening.
Rhoswen wanted to see everything at once, including the arena, several restaurants, and half the entertainment district.
Astra seemed more interested in the older fleet districts tied to Alliance military history.
Aurelian watched them talk, and for a little while it felt strangely normal.
Not commanders.
Not shipgirls.
Not a frontier fleet carrying too much responsibility on not enough rest. freewёbnoνel.com
Just people working out how to spend a free day.
There was something quietly good about that.
Eventually, they started drifting toward the transit lifts.
Halfway there, Rhoswen turned back.
"You’re not coming?"
"I still need to stay available."
She looked disappointed for exactly one second.
Then Astra stepped a little closer to him.
"I will remain."
Rhoswen brightened immediately.
"Good luck."
Astra narrowed her eyes.
"With what?"
Rhoswen only grinned and disappeared into the lift before anyone could answer.
The terrace went quiet after that.
Far below, starport traffic kept moving across the city in bright steady patterns.
Aurelian looked toward Astra.
"You could’ve gone with her."
"I know."
"Wanted to stay?"
"Yes."
Simple as always. freewebnovёl.ƈom
He smiled at that.
"I’m heading to the upper port later. One of Father’s logistics coordinators wants confirmation on the specialist groups he’s preparing."
Astra nodded.
"That is expected."
Aurelian rested his hands against the railing and looked out over the lights.
The city below felt different from the frontier, more polished and more settled, like everything had been built generations ago and only needed to keep moving forward.
